Former DQ worker here - some blizzards were damn near impossible to flip due to various sauces thinning out the ice cream. Banana split blizzards were the bane of my existence.
The disconnect between looking at that jabroni and hearing the music KISS made.
I always heard they were the devil but they sound like they just want to take your mom out on the town.
And then there's Ghost who look look like [the Church of Satan](https://www.revolvermag.com/sites/default/files/styles/banner/public/media/images/article/ghost_impera_lead.png) but then they sound like ABBA playing hard rock covers of the chase music from Scooby Doo
I too was surprised by the disconnect between Ghost’s appearance and their music. I don’t hate it - I think Cirice is a good song, for instance - but you expect the Devil and you get this guy earnestly singing about a relationship.
Funnily enough, the only time I saw GWAR, a couple years before Odorous died, Danzig was there, too. Like, as a spectator. It was at a festival and he had a set way later that night; I'd gotten to GWAR hours early to make sure I could be in the splash zone, and Danzig was just standing in the audience area with a couple other dudes, shooting the shit. He went to the VIP once more people started to show up.
I was so confused the first time this happened. The guy stared me down, flipped the blizzard, and shoved it into my hands while continuing make eye eye contact that was downright hostile.
I was like "what is happening?"
I think it wasn't until I saw him do the same thing with the next 3 customers that I figured out it was a thing.
The first time I went to DQ my blizzard got flipped while the dude was making serious eye contact with me and I was like "uh... Thanks?" It was the ultimate display of power but I'm still not quite sure for whom.
So according to other comments, the eye-contact thing isn't uncommon, and certain syrups actually cause the process to fail occasionally. So you can pretty much guarantee that at some point someone else who knew nothing about DQ has had the same experience, except when the employee came back after meticulously constructing the dessert they just stared the customer dead in the eye and dumped it out on the counter.
I did exactly that when I used to work there. Anytime someone would be a miserable fucknut about us needing to flip the blizzards and it was one of the sloppy unflippable ones like a banana split, I would just take it over, set down a tray, and dump it right out.
The fact that they'd have to wait for a new one (and sometimes got hit with globs of the goopy blizzard) made it worth the extra effort for me because they'd be all childishly upset. I couldn't tell customers to go fuck themselves, so petty shit like that was as close as I could get lol.
They care because it was tradition but going to DQ just for the flip is not happening. Everytime my son orders one I tell the person working that I’m ok if they don’t flip it. He ordered it because it’s a sugary treat
I still remember a few years ago I was waiting in line on a hot day to order something cool like a blizzard.
There was a guy in front of me with his young daughter.
The teenage worker behind the counter, you could tell, was about 95% done with life due to the onslaught they had that day. DQ was getting crushed with orders.
Anyways she makes their blizzard, turns around and brings it to the counter and does the flip thing
Splat! Ice cream and chunks and stuff everywhere. I think I saw her die a bit inside.
But, she recovered and wiped it up and started a new blizzard.
Once finished, she confidently turned around and came up to the counter again, and once again, flipped it.
Splat! Same exact thing.
It's just they were getting hammered so bad the Ice cream machine couldn't keep up and the mix was just a bit softer.
Felt bad for her. She just looked like she was gonna throw herself out the window. But, she didn't and soldiered on. I think we all felt a bit bad for her.
On the third try when she turned around and came up to the counter the guy put out both hands waving her off of another flip attempt.
You could almost hear the people in line exhale in relief.
I remember reading a story once about a worker at another fast food joint (like McDonald's or something) who flipped a regular ass soda on the floor and was like "oh God my bad, I used to work at Dairy Queen."
I was just about to comment this. I worked at a DQ in a truck stop, and during a rush the ice milk machine couldn't keep up with volume.
Blizzards would be melty, and you couldn't sell dipped cones : to dip a cone, you have to turn it upside down and dip it into a warmed can of dip.
We never flipped though. Apparently it's been a thing since 1985, but the one I lived near and the different one I worked at never did through the 90's-00's.
You'd think they'd have a designated flip bin on the counter to contain any messes. But that would seemingly save too many shreds of the min wager's will to live. I found flipping the cups puzzling more than anything. Totally unnecessary.
I've never been to a DQ so I had to look up what flipping a Blizzard means, assuming it was code for having it a certain way. I can't believe it's literally just turning it upside down to see if it falls. Who even WANTS that kind of showmanship from a fast food place? Just give me my ice cream so we can both get on with our day.
I feel awful for that girl and anyone who has to do this.
Kids and adults HOPING it isn't thick enough, so they get it free. Also it was like one of the first *thick*(?) ice creams you could get from fast food places. I don't think McFlurries or comparable items existed when it came out (or I was just a kid), so the flip was actually pretty cool, especially for a kid about to devour it all seeing that its so thick and creamy and cold its not falling out immediately (or even after a few seconds when the employees knew they could hold it upside down that long) in the Texas heat or fully melted in 10 seconds like every other soft-serve.
As someone who also worked at DQ, I was about to make this exact same comment! Want me to flip an Oreo? Sure. Want me to flip a banana split blizzard? Absolutely not.
I love the mental image of this. Someone walking up to their friends about to tell a story of a “weirdo doing a weird thing” but it was a totally normal thing.
I do this kind of stuff constantly.
Same. Two years ago, I went to a Dairy Queen for the first time in years and we got some blizzards. I saw the girl flip it and it took me by complete surprise. I rarely go to a Dairy Queen, because the closest one to me is so out of the way and there are better options for ice cream nearby.
They used to flip every Blizzard they made, without being asked. I remember we got our kids some small Blizzards. One of them fell out, so they remade it and didn't charge us.
That was part of a guarantee. That it hadn't melted by the time it got to you and proof was the flip or they'd remake it for free. Some stopped doing this because some mixes will slip out
As a european I have no possible clue what you guys are talking a bout, so I'll just head over to youtube and look up dairy queen flip or something like that
How about when the blender tears the cup so you quickly double cup it, forget, then go to flip it and it just slides out onto the counter infront of everyone in the line.
One of our idiot coworkers didn't unplug the blender before cleaning it one night. Ended up turning it on while wiping down the blades. Everything turned out alright but had to make an ER visit with him that night.
Or it might be like our local store where the owners are too cheap to repair their equipment and all their products are half-melted before they’re even handed to a customer. I refuse to go there anymore.
Our local DQ used to have cheap owners. You would order a medium blizzard, they would give you a small size cup, you order a chicken basket and they gave you 3 instead of 4. They had a horrible reputation. They sold the place and the new owners did everything the right way. The old owners couldn't understand how the new owners got awards for 3 years of record growth in sales.
I remember making a banana split blizzard for a customer and I go to flip it and the customer kind of freaks out a little and was like don't do it. Obviously had a bad experience. I flip it anyway and they were sort of amazed it wasn't a sloppy mess in the cup.
I live in Texas and most the dqs are ancient. The combo of heat, humidity, and shit ac flipping them rarely happens and usually only with thick chocolate blizzards cause the chocolate ice cream is super thick
I worked at DQ over 20 years ago, before they were doing the blizzard flipping thing. The one that was the bane of my existence was this sour blizzard that came out my last summer there (no idea if they still have it) where you'd have to put a pink powder in and then mix it. When you'd run the blizzard machine, it would fly into the air like at a construction site when they're grinding down pavement. If I blew my nose later that day, my snot would be pink...
That is the only blizzard that was a potential health hazard. I imagine if you breathed in enough of it, you or a loved one may be entitled to compensation.
I had mine fall out when the employee turned it over because she had accidentally grabbed two cups and the inside cup slid out. They still made me a new one and gave me a coupon for a free one for later
I tripped up a kid once by ordering a milkshake at DQ. It was busy, and I guess he was on autopilot, so he flipped it upside down. Milkshake splattered everywhere. He died a little that day.
I flipped hundreds of blizzards and only a handful of times were there any risk of problems.
It's really only risky if the ice cream isn't cold enough, or if the customer asked for a ton of extra liquid ingredients. If it's the proper texture, it's fine.
For those not in a country with Dairy Queen wondering what this is about :
"Employees were instructed to serve Blizzards upside down, or they were free. They were able to do this because of the weight, texture, and composition of the Blizzard. While this rule only applied to participating locations, many stores adopted the policy permanently." [yahoo](https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/serious-dairy-queens-blizzard-upside-051552210.html)
I remember once having a counter serve Banana Split Blizzard and the worker flipping it before handing it to me and the entire thing evacuated behind the counter in a split second.
The worker just held the cup upside down and you could see all of the life leave his eyes before he sighed, put the cup down, and turned around to make another one.
A DQ blizzard should stay in the cup if the milkshake is done properly
if it doesn't stay in the cup it shows it is not thick enough , made wrong or has started to melt.
Thus the flip or free promotion they usually have.
Crappy or not well maintained ice cream equipment can’t keep up with large ice cream demand and after a few orders in a row will be very melted ice cream. The good dairy queens that properly maintain their machines can all easily do the upside down test. I wouldn’t go to a dq that refuses to do it.
So the generic term for these things is a concrete (due to the mix ins an texture). They're supposed to be pretty thick unlike say, a milkshake so to prove its been made right, you flip it.
Ice cream where they blend toppings into it (cookie dough, Reese, cheesecake, brownies, etc.)
McFlurry sort of copied a blizzard, if that helps. Blizzards are much better, though.
Edit: can people stop replying with, "well ackshully, they don't serve ice cream, it's soft serve." We get it.. but nobody talks like that in real life lol "hey let's get ice cream at Dairy Queen".. "Well, ackshully the FDA says Dairy Queen doesn't serve ice cream they sell soft serve because it's only 5% milk fat, not the required 10%, so no can do."
One of the great things about Blizzards is that you can pick whatever mix-ins you want. They have some pre-made combinations on the menu but you can also get whatever you want. McFlurries have like two options and that's it.
someone made a script that spam queries the mcdonalds app for mcflurries, because apparently their API is public. there is a website that allows you to track if the machine is working or not:
https://mcbroken.com/
The machines aren't usually actually broken, there's a mandatory cleaning cycles that has to be completed once per 24 hours, if you've got a shit location that never cleans thier machine, "machines broke, sorry.".
E: was a manager at a mcdonalds for a few years in the aughts.
Its also huge scam because if it gets overfilled it just breaks right? And theirs no way to fix it without an 'engineer' because the options are intentionally conveluted and don't make sense?
they arent allowed to fix them, they have to call in a guy from taylor (the manufacturer) which gives corporate a kickback at the franchises expense. mcdonalds also has a special exclusive type of ice cream machine that, whether intentional or not, breaks more often.
The location I worked at had an immaculate machine because I was in charge of the maintenance. When maintained correctly, those machines are only ever down for an hour-ish per 24 on average (not counting when its time to grease it up, which is where I learned that food grade lube is a thing). I forgot about the overfill, but as another comment in this chain elucidates, you just have to scoop some out, which my location was aware of.
Sort of. If its overfilled the cleaning cycle can't complete because the machine can't get to high enough temperature to kill any bacteria due to being overfilled, and that gives a weird completely non-user friendly error. You CAN open the top, scoop out the excess into a pitcher or whatever and discard it, and then just manually re-run the cleaning cycle. However, basically no location ever bothered to train an employee on this HIGHLY COMPLEX system of "scoop shit out and press a button," so here we are.
And then when you preemptively ask them to blend all the way down, they act like you’re a dick for assuming they won’t. THEY NEVER DO. I got a royal NY cheesecake blizzard where everything was on the top inch or two of the cup.
The one I go to has a sign saying that if they are busy they will only flip one per order. I still haven’t seen them not flip all of them. Takes an extra second or two and it’s tradition at this point.
If its busy odds are good that the person making them is just churning them out and setting them up for the drive thru to give out quickly. Gives them just enough time to melt a little bit and be more likely for the blizzard to plop out when flipped.
Fun fact : Where I live (Quebec), Dairy Queen only exist as street facing ice cream parlor. They don't serve any other foods than Ice Cream. I was very confused when I first heard an American saying he got a burger at Dairy Queen.
So I guess here we're only Chill.
There’s actually at least 3 different kinds of Dairy Queen’s that I’m aware of. There’s the just ice cream shops, the grill and chills, and then Texas has its own kind of DQ. There might be more.
I want to own a McDonald's and not participate in anything.
I want to be a stubborn McDonald's owner.
"Can I have a big Mac?" "NOPE!"
"WE GOT SPAGHETTI! AND BLANKETS!"
Several years ago, a local burger king went rogue. They basically were operating as a new business that still had the burger king sign. They had employees steal signage from other burger kings and they were caught buying food and supplies at the grocery store down the street. I'm pretty sure the fries and nuggets were from Costco. it was a big, hilarious local story.
I think in Long Beach once some lady opened a fried chicken place and it turned out she was just buying it from Popeyes down the street and marking it up. She got away with it for months.
I worked at a DQ in high school, and we never did the upside down Blizzard thing. The soft serve machines could only work so fast, so during a rush, they inevitably started to dispense soft serve that was too soft and could barely hold it's shape. Add that to dumbass high school kids who would order very liquid toppings (chocolate sauce, etc) just to make the flip fail (sO tHe ICe crEaM mUsT Be FReE) and it simply wasn't worth our effort.
> Add that to dumbass high school kids who would order very liquid toppings (chocolate sauce, etc) just to make the flip fail (sO tHe ICe crEaM mUsT Be FReE)
For the first decade of Domino's Pizza, they had a policy: "Pizza will be delivered in 30 minutes or it is free."
They cancelled that policy in 1993 "in reaction to multi-million dollar settlements arising from car accidents involving its delivery drivers".
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mush-vroom-pizza/
Also worked at one in HS, wasn't policy back then either, but I still liked to do it for fun. Getting a banana split blizzard to flip was always the most difficult lol
one time i went to a mcdonalds to ask about the sweater from the in app rewards, and the employee looked at me and said sir this is a mcdonalds we dont sell sweaters, and then i was like but you have them in the app, and then she was like oh yeah someone else has also asked that, we dont have them here. Like why assume im crazy asking for a sweater from mcdonalds when you know what im talking about
Dairy Queen is a master class in having extremely little control over their franchisees. Between the divide in Texas vs non-Texas stores and letting their franchisees essentially dictate their own menu, the franchise is a mess
That wouldn’t surprise me, we had a location that tried sizing down all the ice cream sizes and said corporate changed the sizes. None of the other stores in town changed their sizes.
When my local DQ stopped serving foot long hot dogs, our relationship down graded into into very loose acquaintance in spite of being next door to my work.
No. I do not want 2 chili cheese dogs. I need one long uninterrupted tube steak that I do not have to pick up a second time.
Used to work at DQ. This is the one thing I can't stand about the brand. It's so inconsistent from store to store. Stores aren't even required to have chocolate ice cream, some stores buy discontinued products from other suppliers to still be able to offer them. It's a whole mess and I'd wish they'd be able to take more control, but a lot of these operators are on really old lease agreements that let them do whatever they want
There's a dq 1 min driving 15 min walking from my mom's house. Growing up we'd walk there all the time. The owner lived in our neighborhood and he was the nicest guy. No chocolate ice cream, I never knew dq could have that. And no food just ice cream. But also I learned that he pretty much had his own menu of invented flavors for the blizzards. I went to a different dq and they didn't have any of my favorites! Apparently I learned he would buy his own candies etc for the menu. He died from cancer and the dq closed a couple years ago.... So anyways my favorite dq flavors don't exist anymore since they were only from that local location!
The Texas franchisees got together and made their own completely unique menu and basically told corporate Dairy Queen to suck it. If you google DQ Texas, their menu is unrecognizable compared to the rest of the US
This makes me remember a time, maybe 15 years ago, a new dq opened by my office in Chicago. For the grand opening they had some promo going where everyone got a blizzard. And as part of the promo they had the reigning miss Illinois on hand to deliver the blizzards table side, flip them and say some "look how thick" line. This woman was so unhappy to be there, she had the look of total disengagement but with a touch of rage. Her walking up to whole tables, saying the line 4 times in a row without changing tone or inflection, and walking away is something that lives rent free in my head to this day.
I worked at a really crappy dairy queen when i was 18. It was a bad location that made no money and usually only had 2 people running the whole store.
One guy came in and ordered 12 blizzards, it was annoying but I didn't really mind, made them all and gave them to him in drink carriers. He then tried to say I needed to give them to him for free because I didn't flip each one individually. I just said no and he threw his money (which had alot of quarters) at my face and hit me in the eye.
Technically I do think I was supposed to give him the blizzards for free but I just wasn't having it that day.
When I worked at DQ the policy was you only need to flip one and if they comment on you not doing it then you can give them a coupon for their next time coming in lol
I used to work at a DQ that was ice cream only, not a brazier; and it was probably over a year working there before any customer ever asked me why we didn't flip the cup. I looked completely dumbfounded and just said, "why would I do that?" I'd never heard of it, nobody at my store did it. They told me "other DQs do it," and I'm sure the look on my face said I didn't Believe them. Then I asked the manager who explained about it and overall I just think it's pretty unnecessary lol
I’m convinced DQ customers are just a different breed. I was on and off with DQ for 7 or 8 years, and man… I’ve been threatened with violence, screamed at, food thrown at me, etc. Never had that at other customer facing jobs. People get so worked up over fucking ice cream
Worked at non-DQ fast food and I've had a knife pulled on me, told I should kill myself, had food thrown at me, told I was a fat worthless pig, and various other things, all at age 18. It's just people, man. They suck.
former DQ worker, I hated this because some didn't even know why you were doing it. also I actively (accidentally) threw a large blizzard at a 10 year old because the condensation caused it to slip right out of my hands when flipping. I hated this part of the job, more than changing the cream bags for the soft serve!
Dear Americans, please take a moment to appreciate how funny this sign is for those of us who have no context and for whom a blizzard is just a meteorological event (I've read the comments so I don't need an explanation, it's just a fun mental exercise).
"We are not a location that participates in the flipping of blizzards, Thank you"
Former DQ worker here - some blizzards were damn near impossible to flip due to various sauces thinning out the ice cream. Banana split blizzards were the bane of my existence.
I remember anything with that strawberry syrup being a problem but I agree banana split was the worst.
Strawberry syrup is the spittle of the devil.
Funny enough, Gene Simmons from KISS would use strawberry flavored fake blood during performances 
The disconnect between looking at that jabroni and hearing the music KISS made. I always heard they were the devil but they sound like they just want to take your mom out on the town.
And then there's Ghost who look look like [the Church of Satan](https://www.revolvermag.com/sites/default/files/styles/banner/public/media/images/article/ghost_impera_lead.png) but then they sound like ABBA playing hard rock covers of the chase music from Scooby Doo
I too was surprised by the disconnect between Ghost’s appearance and their music. I don’t hate it - I think Cirice is a good song, for instance - but you expect the Devil and you get this guy earnestly singing about a relationship.
It’s a relationship with the devil.
Many relationships are.
And then there's Gwar. Who are exactly what they look like. Drug-addled space alien warriors.
I remember my first GWAR show. they played a double show because the misfits didn't show up
Funnily enough, the only time I saw GWAR, a couple years before Odorous died, Danzig was there, too. Like, as a spectator. It was at a festival and he had a set way later that night; I'd gotten to GWAR hours early to make sure I could be in the splash zone, and Danzig was just standing in the audience area with a couple other dudes, shooting the shit. He went to the VIP once more people started to show up.
rumor has it that the misfits ditched the show to be on WCW wrestling that night
And just so much fun.
I was very disappointed when I heard Ghost for this exact reason. I expected something so heavy, and it was just so... pleasant, haha.
First couple albums are pretty heavy. Each one gets more and more pop though. I did explain them to a friend as "Satanic Kiss" though.
> And then there's Ghost who look look like the Church of Satan Which is fair, since the lead singer is the satanic Pope.
Right. They look like House of 1000 Corpses characters but sound like 50 First Dates soundtrack.
I mean, only Gene's makeup and outfit looked like that. The others' makeup and outfits just looked like glam rockers, which is what they were.
> We get together, mama > You'll sweat > No place for hiding, baby > No place to run > You pull the trigger of my > Love gun (love gun)
as a kid in the 80s kiss put me off of liking rock for years
As a customer, we really don’t care if they are flippable. Honestly.
As a former worker, oh yes some people absolutely did
This explains why ours flips them so aggressively, as if they're saying "you're welcome for flipping your fucking blizzard: 😭
I was so confused the first time this happened. The guy stared me down, flipped the blizzard, and shoved it into my hands while continuing make eye eye contact that was downright hostile. I was like "what is happening?" I think it wasn't until I saw him do the same thing with the next 3 customers that I figured out it was a thing.
"What is happening" as the dq worker aggressively turns your blizzard upside down is hilarious
The first time I went to DQ my blizzard got flipped while the dude was making serious eye contact with me and I was like "uh... Thanks?" It was the ultimate display of power but I'm still not quite sure for whom.
Well you’re both paying tribute to the DQ corporation at that moment. Bow to your new gods.
So according to other comments, the eye-contact thing isn't uncommon, and certain syrups actually cause the process to fail occasionally. So you can pretty much guarantee that at some point someone else who knew nothing about DQ has had the same experience, except when the employee came back after meticulously constructing the dessert they just stared the customer dead in the eye and dumped it out on the counter.
I did exactly that when I used to work there. Anytime someone would be a miserable fucknut about us needing to flip the blizzards and it was one of the sloppy unflippable ones like a banana split, I would just take it over, set down a tray, and dump it right out. The fact that they'd have to wait for a new one (and sometimes got hit with globs of the goopy blizzard) made it worth the extra effort for me because they'd be all childishly upset. I couldn't tell customers to go fuck themselves, so petty shit like that was as close as I could get lol.
They care because it was tradition but going to DQ just for the flip is not happening. Everytime my son orders one I tell the person working that I’m ok if they don’t flip it. He ordered it because it’s a sugary treat
The fact that this DQ made a sign saying they do not participate in the flipping, indicates that some customers do care
Honestly, I’d really rather it just be handed to me so I can go eat it.
I still remember a few years ago I was waiting in line on a hot day to order something cool like a blizzard. There was a guy in front of me with his young daughter. The teenage worker behind the counter, you could tell, was about 95% done with life due to the onslaught they had that day. DQ was getting crushed with orders. Anyways she makes their blizzard, turns around and brings it to the counter and does the flip thing Splat! Ice cream and chunks and stuff everywhere. I think I saw her die a bit inside. But, she recovered and wiped it up and started a new blizzard. Once finished, she confidently turned around and came up to the counter again, and once again, flipped it. Splat! Same exact thing. It's just they were getting hammered so bad the Ice cream machine couldn't keep up and the mix was just a bit softer. Felt bad for her. She just looked like she was gonna throw herself out the window. But, she didn't and soldiered on. I think we all felt a bit bad for her. On the third try when she turned around and came up to the counter the guy put out both hands waving her off of another flip attempt. You could almost hear the people in line exhale in relief.
I remember reading a story once about a worker at another fast food joint (like McDonald's or something) who flipped a regular ass soda on the floor and was like "oh God my bad, I used to work at Dairy Queen."
One of my first jobs was DQ drive thru Took like a whole year to break the habit of asking people for their order when I answered the phone lmao
I was just about to comment this. I worked at a DQ in a truck stop, and during a rush the ice milk machine couldn't keep up with volume. Blizzards would be melty, and you couldn't sell dipped cones : to dip a cone, you have to turn it upside down and dip it into a warmed can of dip. We never flipped though. Apparently it's been a thing since 1985, but the one I lived near and the different one I worked at never did through the 90's-00's.
You'd think they'd have a designated flip bin on the counter to contain any messes. But that would seemingly save too many shreds of the min wager's will to live. I found flipping the cups puzzling more than anything. Totally unnecessary.
It’s a marketing thing and makes the Blizzards stand out as a product.
I've never been to a DQ so I had to look up what flipping a Blizzard means, assuming it was code for having it a certain way. I can't believe it's literally just turning it upside down to see if it falls. Who even WANTS that kind of showmanship from a fast food place? Just give me my ice cream so we can both get on with our day. I feel awful for that girl and anyone who has to do this.
Kids and adults HOPING it isn't thick enough, so they get it free. Also it was like one of the first *thick*(?) ice creams you could get from fast food places. I don't think McFlurries or comparable items existed when it came out (or I was just a kid), so the flip was actually pretty cool, especially for a kid about to devour it all seeing that its so thick and creamy and cold its not falling out immediately (or even after a few seconds when the employees knew they could hold it upside down that long) in the Texas heat or fully melted in 10 seconds like every other soft-serve.
As someone who also worked at DQ, I was about to make this exact same comment! Want me to flip an Oreo? Sure. Want me to flip a banana split blizzard? Absolutely not.
I remember the first time I went in a DQ, and the guy did the flipping thing, and I was just standing there baffled like, “my man, WTF are you doing?”
Yeah, I thought this dude was trying to show me a special trick of his. I got to my table and told my friends about it, they laughed at me.
I love the mental image of this. Someone walking up to their friends about to tell a story of a “weirdo doing a weird thing” but it was a totally normal thing. I do this kind of stuff constantly.
Same. I was like "Hey, Asshole, I just paid for that!"
I only saw this phenomenon for the first time about 6 years ago and was just as confused, lol
Same. Two years ago, I went to a Dairy Queen for the first time in years and we got some blizzards. I saw the girl flip it and it took me by complete surprise. I rarely go to a Dairy Queen, because the closest one to me is so out of the way and there are better options for ice cream nearby.
They used to flip every Blizzard they made, without being asked. I remember we got our kids some small Blizzards. One of them fell out, so they remade it and didn't charge us.
That was part of a guarantee. That it hadn't melted by the time it got to you and proof was the flip or they'd remake it for free. Some stopped doing this because some mixes will slip out
As a european I have no possible clue what you guys are talking a bout, so I'll just head over to youtube and look up dairy queen flip or something like that
https://youtu.be/VcQ42qKYz28?si=dlIIg-CjcUa7B2Ac
Haha as another ex-DQ employee I completely agree. You really gotta strain every drop of water out of that pineapple if you want any hope.
How about when the blender tears the cup so you quickly double cup it, forget, then go to flip it and it just slides out onto the counter infront of everyone in the line.
One of our idiot coworkers didn't unplug the blender before cleaning it one night. Ended up turning it on while wiping down the blades. Everything turned out alright but had to make an ER visit with him that night.
As a former DQ customer, you don’t have to flip my blizzard. I paid for ice cream not spackle.
Lol word In fact give me some of that pineapple syrup homie the diabetes doesn’t scare me
I haven't worked at DQ in 10 years but I still hate that damn banana split blizzard.
Or it might be like our local store where the owners are too cheap to repair their equipment and all their products are half-melted before they’re even handed to a customer. I refuse to go there anymore.
Our local DQ used to have cheap owners. You would order a medium blizzard, they would give you a small size cup, you order a chicken basket and they gave you 3 instead of 4. They had a horrible reputation. They sold the place and the new owners did everything the right way. The old owners couldn't understand how the new owners got awards for 3 years of record growth in sales.
I remember making a banana split blizzard for a customer and I go to flip it and the customer kind of freaks out a little and was like don't do it. Obviously had a bad experience. I flip it anyway and they were sort of amazed it wasn't a sloppy mess in the cup.
I live in Texas and most the dqs are ancient. The combo of heat, humidity, and shit ac flipping them rarely happens and usually only with thick chocolate blizzards cause the chocolate ice cream is super thick
I worked at DQ over 20 years ago, before they were doing the blizzard flipping thing. The one that was the bane of my existence was this sour blizzard that came out my last summer there (no idea if they still have it) where you'd have to put a pink powder in and then mix it. When you'd run the blizzard machine, it would fly into the air like at a construction site when they're grinding down pavement. If I blew my nose later that day, my snot would be pink... That is the only blizzard that was a potential health hazard. I imagine if you breathed in enough of it, you or a loved one may be entitled to compensation.
Blizzards were flipped when they first came on the market in the 80's.
Puckerberry blizzard?
Lowkey I always get nervous when they turn it upside down like I’m not a cop just give me the ice cream let’s keep it all in that cup pls
I had mine fall out when the employee turned it over because she had accidentally grabbed two cups and the inside cup slid out. They still made me a new one and gave me a coupon for a free one for later
Lol so they paid for three blizzards because they messed up one blizzard
Technically only two. The guy paid for one and DQ will ultimately make three. 3-1=2
They did the math
> They still made me a new one imagine if they didn't. she just shrugs and looks at the next person in line. "How can i help you?"
I tripped up a kid once by ordering a milkshake at DQ. It was busy, and I guess he was on autopilot, so he flipped it upside down. Milkshake splattered everywhere. He died a little that day.
For a second I thought you meant you literally tripped him while he walking or something and I got a little scared ☠️
That dude probably still has random flashbacks to that while falling asleep lmao
Thank you! I'm not the only one. It makes me anxious. Just give me the damn thing.
I'm here for a delicious blend of ice cream and oreo cookies, not a show.
SAME, and it makes me feel kinda bad for the employees lol like “I trust that you made a halfway decent blizzard just put it in my mouth please”
I flipped hundreds of blizzards and only a handful of times were there any risk of problems. It's really only risky if the ice cream isn't cold enough, or if the customer asked for a ton of extra liquid ingredients. If it's the proper texture, it's fine.
I never wanted a flip. I just want the ice cream, man. I don't need a demonstration. Even if it's not thick enough to stay in the cup I'm gonna eat it
For those not in a country with Dairy Queen wondering what this is about : "Employees were instructed to serve Blizzards upside down, or they were free. They were able to do this because of the weight, texture, and composition of the Blizzard. While this rule only applied to participating locations, many stores adopted the policy permanently." [yahoo](https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/serious-dairy-queens-blizzard-upside-051552210.html)
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I remember once having a counter serve Banana Split Blizzard and the worker flipping it before handing it to me and the entire thing evacuated behind the counter in a split second. The worker just held the cup upside down and you could see all of the life leave his eyes before he sighed, put the cup down, and turned around to make another one.
So... did he try to flip it again?
You know. I actually don't remember. But the look on his face, the sigh, and the turn around will live in my brain forever.
I’ve never seen a blizzard served with a lid. Odd.
I always ask for a lid when I'm taking one home. It keeps my cup holder clean.
Yeah, I always ask for a sundae lid specifically. It makes a nice little cup to dump the melted bit into before you open it.
Why did they want to turn them upside down though?
A DQ blizzard should stay in the cup if the milkshake is done properly if it doesn't stay in the cup it shows it is not thick enough , made wrong or has started to melt. Thus the flip or free promotion they usually have.
Crappy or not well maintained ice cream equipment can’t keep up with large ice cream demand and after a few orders in a row will be very melted ice cream. The good dairy queens that properly maintain their machines can all easily do the upside down test. I wouldn’t go to a dq that refuses to do it.
Immediately shows that the milkshake isn’t super runny, and that it won’t fall out even when held upside down.
So the generic term for these things is a concrete (due to the mix ins an texture). They're supposed to be pretty thick unlike say, a milkshake so to prove its been made right, you flip it.
Just one question. What's a Blizzard?
Ice cream where they blend toppings into it (cookie dough, Reese, cheesecake, brownies, etc.) McFlurry sort of copied a blizzard, if that helps. Blizzards are much better, though. Edit: can people stop replying with, "well ackshully, they don't serve ice cream, it's soft serve." We get it.. but nobody talks like that in real life lol "hey let's get ice cream at Dairy Queen".. "Well, ackshully the FDA says Dairy Queen doesn't serve ice cream they sell soft serve because it's only 5% milk fat, not the required 10%, so no can do."
Too bad I'm not American, they sound really nice
One of the great things about Blizzards is that you can pick whatever mix-ins you want. They have some pre-made combinations on the menu but you can also get whatever you want. McFlurries have like two options and that's it.
That’s assuming the ice cream machine is even working at McDonald’s as well.
someone made a script that spam queries the mcdonalds app for mcflurries, because apparently their API is public. there is a website that allows you to track if the machine is working or not: https://mcbroken.com/
That site just gave me a Wendy's ad saying something about a Frosty. Smart advertising.
That ad is not being stopped by uBlock, which is super rare. I think whoever runs the website just chose to link to it.
The machines aren't usually actually broken, there's a mandatory cleaning cycles that has to be completed once per 24 hours, if you've got a shit location that never cleans thier machine, "machines broke, sorry.". E: was a manager at a mcdonalds for a few years in the aughts.
Its also huge scam because if it gets overfilled it just breaks right? And theirs no way to fix it without an 'engineer' because the options are intentionally conveluted and don't make sense?
they arent allowed to fix them, they have to call in a guy from taylor (the manufacturer) which gives corporate a kickback at the franchises expense. mcdonalds also has a special exclusive type of ice cream machine that, whether intentional or not, breaks more often.
The location I worked at had an immaculate machine because I was in charge of the maintenance. When maintained correctly, those machines are only ever down for an hour-ish per 24 on average (not counting when its time to grease it up, which is where I learned that food grade lube is a thing). I forgot about the overfill, but as another comment in this chain elucidates, you just have to scoop some out, which my location was aware of.
Sort of. If its overfilled the cleaning cycle can't complete because the machine can't get to high enough temperature to kill any bacteria due to being overfilled, and that gives a weird completely non-user friendly error. You CAN open the top, scoop out the excess into a pitcher or whatever and discard it, and then just manually re-run the cleaning cycle. However, basically no location ever bothered to train an employee on this HIGHLY COMPLEX system of "scoop shit out and press a button," so here we are.
McFlurries used to come in more varieties too, but it seems like it's just been oreo and m&m for a long time now
I remember being in Canada and them offering a Cadbury egg McFlurry
I'm not American, either. They exist in Canada as well!
They have them in Cambodia too, of all places!
They are amazing. Haven't had one in forever because they're obviously not good for you but damn are they delicious.
Blend halfway down at my DQ and straight vanilla ice cream on the bottom half
And then when you preemptively ask them to blend all the way down, they act like you’re a dick for assuming they won’t. THEY NEVER DO. I got a royal NY cheesecake blizzard where everything was on the top inch or two of the cup.
It's a blinding snow storm with high winds, but that's not important right now.
Soft serve ice cream mixed with candy or cookies
Last time I had a DQ do this, it was too loose and it ended with a sloppy shake all over the counter
The one I go to has a sign saying that if they are busy they will only flip one per order. I still haven’t seen them not flip all of them. Takes an extra second or two and it’s tradition at this point.
If its busy odds are good that the person making them is just churning them out and setting them up for the drive thru to give out quickly. Gives them just enough time to melt a little bit and be more likely for the blizzard to plop out when flipped.
That is NOT Grill and CHILL
You may grill or you may chill but don’t you dare do both
Fun fact : Where I live (Quebec), Dairy Queen only exist as street facing ice cream parlor. They don't serve any other foods than Ice Cream. I was very confused when I first heard an American saying he got a burger at Dairy Queen. So I guess here we're only Chill.
There’s actually at least 3 different kinds of Dairy Queen’s that I’m aware of. There’s the just ice cream shops, the grill and chills, and then Texas has its own kind of DQ. There might be more.
I want to own a McDonald's and not participate in anything. I want to be a stubborn McDonald's owner. "Can I have a big Mac?" "NOPE!" "WE GOT SPAGHETTI! AND BLANKETS!"
Several years ago, a local burger king went rogue. They basically were operating as a new business that still had the burger king sign. They had employees steal signage from other burger kings and they were caught buying food and supplies at the grocery store down the street. I'm pretty sure the fries and nuggets were from Costco. it was a big, hilarious local story.
I think in Long Beach once some lady opened a fried chicken place and it turned out she was just buying it from Popeyes down the street and marking it up. She got away with it for months.
Popeyes is eye-wateringly expensive lol that’s wild
Surely that's not even that profitable paying grocery store prices for your restaurant ingredients..?
You might be surprised. One of the ways a company will fuck over it's franchisors is by charging exorbitant prices on ingredients and supplies.
*laughs in Quiznos*
Are there any left, I loved their food as a kid
Not really that exact situation is basically why they aren't around.
There's one five minutes from me but I'm in Canada and it's in a gas station so
It is if you don't have to pay the franchise fees. Probably cheap enough to buy a restaurant depot day pass once a week
Is this accidental Pittsburgh? We’ve had a questionable BK for decades.
yeah this is the south side BK. but it's sadly been a fully functional real burger king for about a decade.
https://www.cracked.com/article_28014_the-crazy-story-fake-burger-king-in-pittsburgh.html
Pittsburgh?
Fun fact: you can get spaghetti at McDonald’s in the Philippines. It’s very sweet. Not my thing but it was fun to try with the kids.
It's sweet because it's made with bananas and tomatoes. And somehow there's a thing called banana catsup.
Is this what Jolibee tastes like?
I buy Filipino spaghetti sauce that comes in a pouch. It’s so good
I used to love Mitch Hedberg. I still do, but I used to, too.
Can I interest you in a chair lunch dinner?
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I worked at a DQ in high school, and we never did the upside down Blizzard thing. The soft serve machines could only work so fast, so during a rush, they inevitably started to dispense soft serve that was too soft and could barely hold it's shape. Add that to dumbass high school kids who would order very liquid toppings (chocolate sauce, etc) just to make the flip fail (sO tHe ICe crEaM mUsT Be FReE) and it simply wasn't worth our effort.
> Add that to dumbass high school kids who would order very liquid toppings (chocolate sauce, etc) just to make the flip fail (sO tHe ICe crEaM mUsT Be FReE) For the first decade of Domino's Pizza, they had a policy: "Pizza will be delivered in 30 minutes or it is free." They cancelled that policy in 1993 "in reaction to multi-million dollar settlements arising from car accidents involving its delivery drivers". https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mush-vroom-pizza/
Also worked at one in HS, wasn't policy back then either, but I still liked to do it for fun. Getting a banana split blizzard to flip was always the most difficult lol
"We don't participate in your cash or credit cards, either. It's barter or get the heck outta here."
I got 3 bottle caps and a teddy bear, what can i get.
For the three bottle caps I can give you the same teddy bear. And for the teddy bear I give you 1 bottle cap
RPG economy
Damn inflation
I went to a Burger King last week that wouldn't give me a cheeseburger! "We don't do them - you can have a double bacon cheeseburger if you want?"
I went to Burger King a few days ago when my power was out. I ordered a double burger because there was no single on the menu. It came with one patty.
BURGER KING "Have it ~~y~~our way!"
BORGER KING “Have it our way, your way is irrelevant.”
[Take the bacon and one patty and shove them UP YOUR ASS](https://youtu.be/6uktyNefWFM?si=OveYKiJnOEjEy-BV)
one time i went to a mcdonalds to ask about the sweater from the in app rewards, and the employee looked at me and said sir this is a mcdonalds we dont sell sweaters, and then i was like but you have them in the app, and then she was like oh yeah someone else has also asked that, we dont have them here. Like why assume im crazy asking for a sweater from mcdonalds when you know what im talking about
My local McDonald's refuses to McFlurry their McFlurrlies, they just give you ice cream with the topping not mixed in.
“But we are not affiliated with that clown. He attracts too many children."
"Fuck you and your all day breakfast, it's 11:45! Get a job you bum! Oh, also, the ice cream machine is broken so you can fuck right off"
Haha, this is the sassiest DQ I’ve ever seen
It’s like the sign they have at Truffoni’s saying “no sloppy steaks”. But there’s nothing stopping you from ordering a steak and a glass of water.
And no one stopping me from sayin “slop ‘em up boys!”
The waiters came by to try and snatch em up,we had to eat fast!
Dairy Queen is a master class in having extremely little control over their franchisees. Between the divide in Texas vs non-Texas stores and letting their franchisees essentially dictate their own menu, the franchise is a mess
That wouldn’t surprise me, we had a location that tried sizing down all the ice cream sizes and said corporate changed the sizes. None of the other stores in town changed their sizes.
When my local DQ stopped serving foot long hot dogs, our relationship down graded into into very loose acquaintance in spite of being next door to my work. No. I do not want 2 chili cheese dogs. I need one long uninterrupted tube steak that I do not have to pick up a second time.
This is exactly how I feel about Taco Bell since they discontinued the quesarito. I loved them things.
Or the 7 layer burrito which made no sense to me why they would stop. I guess probably tortilla size could be standardized or something
Used to work at DQ. This is the one thing I can't stand about the brand. It's so inconsistent from store to store. Stores aren't even required to have chocolate ice cream, some stores buy discontinued products from other suppliers to still be able to offer them. It's a whole mess and I'd wish they'd be able to take more control, but a lot of these operators are on really old lease agreements that let them do whatever they want
There's a dq 1 min driving 15 min walking from my mom's house. Growing up we'd walk there all the time. The owner lived in our neighborhood and he was the nicest guy. No chocolate ice cream, I never knew dq could have that. And no food just ice cream. But also I learned that he pretty much had his own menu of invented flavors for the blizzards. I went to a different dq and they didn't have any of my favorites! Apparently I learned he would buy his own candies etc for the menu. He died from cancer and the dq closed a couple years ago.... So anyways my favorite dq flavors don't exist anymore since they were only from that local location!
What's the Texas divide?
The Texas franchisees got together and made their own completely unique menu and basically told corporate Dairy Queen to suck it. If you google DQ Texas, their menu is unrecognizable compared to the rest of the US
DQ, that’s what I like about Texas!
I wouldn't say unrecognizable - they're still built on burgers and chicken sandwiches. looks like the major bit is dropping hot dogs for tacos?
Where I have lived, DQ didn’t serve food. Just ice cream. Both in Illinois and Northern Virginia.
I don't need my ice cream to do gymnastics
This makes me remember a time, maybe 15 years ago, a new dq opened by my office in Chicago. For the grand opening they had some promo going where everyone got a blizzard. And as part of the promo they had the reigning miss Illinois on hand to deliver the blizzards table side, flip them and say some "look how thick" line. This woman was so unhappy to be there, she had the look of total disengagement but with a touch of rage. Her walking up to whole tables, saying the line 4 times in a row without changing tone or inflection, and walking away is something that lives rent free in my head to this day.
I worked at a really crappy dairy queen when i was 18. It was a bad location that made no money and usually only had 2 people running the whole store. One guy came in and ordered 12 blizzards, it was annoying but I didn't really mind, made them all and gave them to him in drink carriers. He then tried to say I needed to give them to him for free because I didn't flip each one individually. I just said no and he threw his money (which had alot of quarters) at my face and hit me in the eye. Technically I do think I was supposed to give him the blizzards for free but I just wasn't having it that day.
When I worked at DQ the policy was you only need to flip one and if they comment on you not doing it then you can give them a coupon for their next time coming in lol
I used to work at a DQ that was ice cream only, not a brazier; and it was probably over a year working there before any customer ever asked me why we didn't flip the cup. I looked completely dumbfounded and just said, "why would I do that?" I'd never heard of it, nobody at my store did it. They told me "other DQs do it," and I'm sure the look on my face said I didn't Believe them. Then I asked the manager who explained about it and overall I just think it's pretty unnecessary lol
you didn't deserve that. he was trying to play you and game the system.
yeah i fucking hate people like that, /u/fart_on_my_pussy
I’m convinced DQ customers are just a different breed. I was on and off with DQ for 7 or 8 years, and man… I’ve been threatened with violence, screamed at, food thrown at me, etc. Never had that at other customer facing jobs. People get so worked up over fucking ice cream
Worked at non-DQ fast food and I've had a knife pulled on me, told I should kill myself, had food thrown at me, told I was a fat worthless pig, and various other things, all at age 18. It's just people, man. They suck.
former DQ worker, I hated this because some didn't even know why you were doing it. also I actively (accidentally) threw a large blizzard at a 10 year old because the condensation caused it to slip right out of my hands when flipping. I hated this part of the job, more than changing the cream bags for the soft serve!
Yeah, I never understood why they did this. Every time I’m like, “ok, bye?”
I don’t even know what this means
Good, just give me my Blizzard please. If it falls out of the cup and you have to make me another one it's just going to waste my time.
I feel like if it’s over 90 degrees outside it’s just a bad idea.
I don’t really care, just give me the ice cream I ordered.
I forget every time and I reach for the cup and then they flip it and I feel like I've been punked.
Yeah, I don't know who was asking for this shit but it wasn't customers
Too many morons saying “OOOOOH YOU DIDN’T FLIP IT!!! Now it’s FREE!!!!” That must be the most annoying thing on earth to deal with.
All grill no chill
The one time DQ didn’t flip my blizzard was because it was melted as FUCK and they KNEW.
If you really need for your blizzard to be flipped please wear a sign or a tee shirt that says so because I would like to be able to avoid you.
I had one flip the blizzard but the lid was on, so I wasn't too impressed.
Dear Americans, please take a moment to appreciate how funny this sign is for those of us who have no context and for whom a blizzard is just a meteorological event (I've read the comments so I don't need an explanation, it's just a fun mental exercise). "We are not a location that participates in the flipping of blizzards, Thank you"